Yosemite

In early June, we took a road trip up to Yosemite. Even though I grew up in California, I had never been there and therefore was very excited to finally see the park.
The drive up was uneventful. We made a side trip to the Forestiere Gardens, but it was not open when we got there.
We stayed at the Yosemite Bug, a hostel-style spot about 20 miles outside the park. It turned out to be a bit noisy due to the younger crowd but the location was nice since it was close to the town of Mariposa. They did have a nice swimming hole with a little waterfall.

Our first afternoon was spent in Mariposa. After eating, we visited the Mariposa Museum and History Center. This museum was one of the best town historical venues I have been to. The exhibits, which explained the area's rich gold rush period, were very well done and had a story that led you through them. We also visited the old courthouse.


The second day was our first in the park and we drove in along Highway 140 into the park. The first views of the valley were stunning. Since we were there early in the summer, the falls were still at full strength. We drove over to the large parking lot near the village and started to explore. Our first hikes included the nature hike around the village and Yosemite Falls.




The next day we tackled Bridalveil Fall, Happy Isles, Vernal Fall, Mirror Lake and the Ahwahnee Hotel. The weather was perfect, not too hot but not too cold. The falls were all overflowing with water due to a heavy snowfall this year.




On our last full day we went to the south side of the park. Along the drive we stopped by the Talking Bear in Oakhurst but the audio was not working very well and we couldn't make out the bear's speech. We also stopped at the Sugar Pine Railroad and had a very nice little Jenny ride. We then parked at Wawona and took a shuttle bus to Mariposa Grove of Sequoias. Back at Wawona, we walked through the pioneer village that had many of the older park structures that have been moved.





Being in Gold Country, we took a short gold panning lesson at the Sugar Pine Railroad and the kids got a bad case of gold fever. Bengt bought a little gold pan and we started panning at a little park along the Merced river. After the kids lost interest, a real prospector showed up and proceeded to work the exact same place we had just left. I watched him and little bit later he showed us some gold in his pan. Not enough to make you rich, but enough to keep you interested.

On our way back home, we stopped by the California State Mining and Mineral Museum. It was a great place to find out about rocks, gems and especially gold. The kids loved the mine dug into the hill behind the building. Lastly, we stopped at Fort Tejon and a wonderful talk with the park denizens in period costume.

Books

Another batch of books read:

• "A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes and Forgotten Fighters From America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C. Davis - An interesting set of narratives about little known, but important, episodes of America's history in the first half of the 19th century.
  


• "The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea" by John P. Craven - Mr. Craven has done some amazing things (assuming the book is true). However, I don't agree with this position on "outing" people and possibly classified information.
  


• "A Small Place In Italy" by Eric Newby - the original "A Year in Provence"
  

Weekend Activities

* Awesome PIPE event at San Mateo. Perfect weather, great food and good friends. Picked up 4 geocaches on the trail from the camp to Trestles beach.
* Slipped away from camping to see Jaya in here Alice in Wonderland performance. She was great!

Backcounty Drive

The family took a nice road trip to the back country. We started heading east on the 78, through Escondido and its numerous lights and through the San Pasqual Valley into Ramona. We took a quick stop at the Santa Ysabel Open Preserve West to stretch our legs. This somewhat new trail is something we will surely want to come back to. Back on the road, we turned north at Santa Ysabel and took the 79 past Lake Henshaw.
The meadows here were spectacular with flowers and green grass. A right on S2 and S22 took us down the curvy road into Borrego Springs.
We stopped in at the Anza Borrego Park headquarters and checked out the nature center. It was very educational for us. We then headed up a bit to do the Palm Canyon hike. However, the rangers at the site informed us that dogs are not permitted on park land. With nowhere to hike, we drove around a bit to see if we could some wildflowers from the road.
Along Borrego Springs Rd., a landowner has installed life size sculptures of pre-historic creatures. The statues are made of steel and very impressive. We caw sloths, camels, turtles, smilodons, pigs and even velociraptors. Thanks to the Galleta Meadows people for displaying these. We tried heading up a dirt road, but thought the better of it and heading out of Borrego Springs.
We headed south to catch the 78 into Julian. I love going to Julian and it very nice weather there and not crowded at all. The dog got a walk through the old cemetery and the kids got ice cream at the soda fountain on the main corner. On the way out of Julian, we stopped at the Inaja Memorial Park and did a dusk hike on the nature trail there. Wonderful views!
We then headed home the way we came.

Weekend Activites

* Hiked a canyon in Cardiff leading from Lake Drive to I-5.
* Hiked the west approach to the waterfall in Los Penasquitos Canyon. Sophie almost got bit by a rattlesnake after she went into some bushes; she was one a very short leash after that scare. It was a beautiful day, sunny but with a nice cool breeze most of the way. It is nearly 6 miles round trip and the kids were griping towards the end, but it was worth it.

Not Only in the South

Are mobile home parks the target of tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons and other natural disasters. It seems France has them as well.

Weekend Activities

* Walked around Oceanside Harbor
* Climbed Seashell Hill

East Coast Snow

I was in Herndon, VA last week on business and was caught up in "Snowmageddon" or whatever they are calling the snowiest winter of all. These pictures were taken at our hotel.

Weekend Activities

* Dart tournament at Joey's BBQ - knocked out in second round
* Finally got a chance to walk the dog; took her along 101 to enjoy the beautiful weather
* Finished in the money at a charity poker tourney - the last 5 of us chopped the prize money

India Trip

Here are some pictures from our trip to India.

Books

• Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi by Timothy Puaketat - If Cahokia was built from stone, it would be held in the same regard as some of Central America's ancient cities. However, being of dirt, it is somewhat obscure. This small book is heavy, academic reading but seeks to elevate Cahokia to a higher level.


• Larry Bond's First Team by Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice - A techno-thriller I couldn't finish.


• 1,001 Things They Won't Tell You: An Insider's Guide to Spending, Saving and Living Wisely by Jonathan Dahl - This would be good for those of you who don't think businesses are out to make money and not be your best friend. Very few really useful tips.


• The Last Testament by Sam Bourne - Bought at the Mumbai airport, the jacket quote says "The biggest challenger to Dan Browns' crown". This is a decent book but not as good as Brown's works.

Mumbai Attacks

We were in India on vacation during the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. If you have any doubt about the evilness of Muslim extremists, read this riveting account of the 11/26 attacks.

It is hard to get in the Christmas mood in 80 degree weather.

Books

* "Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War" by H. W. Crockett III - An interesting if odd look at the Civil War. I appreciate the different point of views at looking at Lincoln and secession but the "lost cause" mentality is pretty thick.
* "Strategic Battles in the Pacific" by Earle Rice Jr. - good basic intro to some of the most important Pacific Theater battles. An explanation of why Midway was not included would be very welcome.
* "Driving Like Crazy" by P. J. O'Rourke - not one of his best efforts.
* "A Gift to My Children" by Jim Rogers - I haven't read any of Rogers' other books but I hope they are better than this. The advice for his children mostly center around China becoming the center of the universe.
* "Superfoods for Dummies" by Brent Agin and Shereen Jegtvig - a good intro to superfoods and should whet our appetite for more.

Operation Orchard

Is this the definitive account of the Israeli strike on the nascent Syrian nuke site?

Weekend Activities

* Lego League competition - The kids did awesome at their first contest, especially given the long day. With a couple of tweaks to the robot and the project presentation, they could place much higher.
* Open houses at Pacific Ridge and Grauer Schools - the first step in the long journey towards junior high
* Selena Gomez concert at House of Blues
* Worked on the garden
* Jaya performed at a duet concert, Bengt performed at his regular piano recital

Man on the Bench

This is one of the most interesting but saddest stories I have read in a long time. I realize that stories like this happen all the time, they are rarely publicized or have a somewhat happy ending. It also raises many questions:
* What caused Jeff Pastorino to fall into such a mental illness that we couldn't function in society anymore? It didn't sound like he had any previous mental issues. Was it just a failed romance that caused him to snap?
* Why didn't his family look for him? You would think one of his brothers would try to track him down after a while. Maybe they did, but it wasn't mentioned in the story.
* What if someone you knew and loved disappeared one day?

End The Fed

Ron Paul's idea is too radical for the small-minded leaders in office today.

Weekend Activities

* Hikes along the La Costa Glen and Scott Valley trails with several geocaches
* Planted carrots and spinach seeds to round out my winter crops
* Jaya started youth group meetings

Curse is Broken

The post-season voodoo hex the Red Sox have put on the Angels is over! I find it ironic that Dave Henderson threw out the first pitch. Apparently his magic wore off 24 years ago.